The U.S. beats Ghana 2-1 in World Cup group opener

The U.S. national team won their first game of the World Cup 2-1 against Ghana on Monday night. They are now tied for first in the "group of death" with Germany at three points each.

It only took veteran striker Clint Dempsey 31 seconds to score the opening goal of the game, reports Yahoo. It was the fifth fastest goal in tournament history.

There it would remain 1-0 throughout most of the game until the 82nd minute when Andre Ayew of Ghana tied the score at one with a left-footed shot that just slipped past goalie Tim Howard on the near post.

As the U.S. began to lose hope, an unexpected hero, John Brooks, 21, used his head off a beautiful corner by Graham Zusi to take a 2-1 lead in the 86th minute. The only reason Brooks was on the pitch is because of an injury to Matt Besler.

While this was a huge victory for the U.S., they are still suffering a loss as Jozy Altidore went down early in the first half with what appeared to be a left hamstring issue, according to CBS Sports. He was carried off in a stretcher and it did not look good. Aron Johannson went on to take his place.

Dempsey on Altidore's injury: "You could see the tears in his eyes going back to the locker room...Other players have to step up now."